Tigran Mansuryan was born in Beirut. His family moved to Armenia in 1940s. Mansuryan studied first at the Romanos Melikian Music School (1956-60, Edward Baghdasaryan’s course), and then at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (1960-65, Ghazaros Saryan’s course). Later, in 1967, he completed also his PhD under the supervision of Ghazaros Saryan. In 1967-86, he was a teacher of Modern Music Theory in Conservatory. He became professor of Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in 1986. In 1992-95, he was the Rector of the Komitas Conservatory. Mansuryan was one of the pioneers of modern music in former Soviet Union, and first to introduce modern compositional techniques to Armenia. He is the author of great range of compositions: a ballet, concertos, chamber music, string quartets, sonatas, vocal and choral compositions, film soundtracks (The Color of Pomegranates, A piece if Sky, We and Our Mountains, Snow in Black, The Song of the Old Days, Tango of Our Childhood; theatre soundtracks (King John, Hatsavan, Big Silence, etc.). Mansurian’s music delicately complements the film with its tender melody and lyricism. His music has been performed in the most prominent concert halls of the world, including London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, New York, Los Angeles, etc. Tigran Mansuryan was appointed RA Public Council member by the President decree in 2016.

Fred Kelemen was born in West Berlin/Germany in 1964. He studied painting, music, philosophy, religious science and drama studies and worked in various theatres as a director’s assistant before beginning his studies in directing and cinematography at the German Film & TV Academy Berlin (dffb) from 1989 to 1994. For his diploma film Fate he received the German National Film Award in 1995. Since then, he has made a number of films and videos as director and collaborated as cinematographer with several film directors like Joseph Pitchhadze (Sweets, 2013), Béla Tarr (Journey to the Plain, 1995, The Man from London, 2007, The Turin Horse, 2011 ), Rudolf Thome (The Visible and the Invisible, 2006), Gariné Torossian (Stone, Time, Touch, 2005). Since 1995, he has worked as an associate professor and has given master classes and lectures at the following institutions: Centre of Cinematographical Studies of Catalania (C.E.C.C.) in Barcelona/Spain, College of Fine Arts (ESBAG) in Geneva/Switzerland, Harvard University/USA, Kidderminster College/England, Latvian Cultural Academy (LKA) in Riga, University of Santiago de Chile - Department of the Arts and Sciences of Visual Medias, Thammasat University Bangkok/Thailand, German Film and TV Academy Berlin (dffb)/Germany, Tel Aviv University – Department of Film and Television/Israel, National School of Fine Arts (ENBA) Lyon/France, Film Factory Sarajevo/Bosnia-Hercegovina and at the HBK Saar in Saarbrücken, Germany. Retrospectives of his work have been presented at places like the Anthology Film Archives, New York, the Tate Modern London, the Hungarian National Film Theatre Budapest and at cinematheques, film museums and film festivals worldwide. With his film production company Kino Kombat Filmmanufactur he produced his film Krisana/Fallen (Latvia, 2005) and he produced or co-produced the films Moskatchka by Annett Schütze (Latvia, 2005) and Fragment by Gyula Maár (Hungary, 2007) and Hand in Hand by Jana Marsik (Latvia/Gemany, 2008). Fred Kelemen is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)/USA, the European Film Academy (EFA), the German Film Academy and of the European Cultural Parliament (ECP).

Festival director, producer, distributor, exhibitor. From 1992 through 1999, he was director and programmer of the Cinema House, the most important art house cinema in Bulgaria. In 1997, he founded Sofia IFF, considered as the leading film festival in Bulgaria and one of key film events in CentEast Europe. Since 2000. Kitanov has produced and co-produced more than 15 films, which received national and international recognition, most acclaimed of which is The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner (2008) by Stefan Komandarev (shortlisted for Foreign Language Oscar, more than 30 international awards, sold in more than 100 territories). Over the last 15 years Kitanov has released in Bulgaria more than 80 European and independent films by directors as Wim Wenders, Michael Haneke, Francois Ozon, Fatih Akin, Lars von Trier, Aki Kaurismaki, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam, Dardenne Brothers, Danis Tanovic, Kornel Mundruczo, Andrei Zviagintzev. Kitanov was a member of juries in Venice, Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Moscow, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Thessaloniki, Mediawave, Torun, Vologda, European Film Academy and European Parliament. In 2012, Kitanov received the Award of Europa Cinemas for Best Entrepreneur of the year and in 2016, he received Golden Age Star Award by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture. He is a member of the European Film Academy.

Serbian film director, one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave. Želimir Žilnik was born in 1942. From the late 60s, his socially engaged films made in former Yugoslavia (The Unemployed, Early Works, Black Film) earned him accolades, but also censorship in the 70s for his criticism of the government apparatus. Low budget filmmaking and challenging political themes mark his career that includes over 50 films. Since the 1980s, Želimir Žilnik has been developing his unique docu-drama language, used throughout 1990s to reflect on political tensions in the Balkans. More recently, his focus has shifted beyond the divided Balkans to question its relationship with the tightening controls of European borders, delving into the heart of issues of refugees and migrants in Fortress Europe, followed by Kenedi trilogy. Projects that follow, The Old School of Capitalism, One Woman – One Century, Pirika on Film and Logbook_Serbistan all add to the story of a system of values generated in disputable social systems, a narrative, which runs through Žilnik's film career so far.

Pavel Pechenkin was born in 1956. When he was young he created slide-films and experimental video-poetic theatre. From 1985 he was assistant director at Permtelefilm. In 1987, Pavel Pechenkin founded one of the first independent film studios in USSR – Novy Kurs (New Course). He has made over 40 films as a director and producer. Petcheնkin has been awarded multiple international film festivals’ prizes. He is the initiator for creating in Perm and Perm Krai a system of media-education. He is the President of IDFF Flahertiana, a member of Russian Filmmakers Union, member of Russian Film Academy.

In 1984, Armen Khachatryan graduated from Moscow All-Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK). He has been working at Hayk and Hayfilm Studios since 1984. During this period he took part in creating 45 films. His films have been presented at many IFFs. He lectures at the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema. Has professor's scientific degree. Being a documentarist, ha has made numerous films as a director, cameraman and scriptwriter.

Jesper Andersen is a Master of Arts from The University of Copenhagen and has been with the Danish Film Institute since 1990 – from 1998 as senior curator at the DFI/Cinematheque in Copenhagen. He has also worked as film consultant at the Nordic Council of Ministers on projects in South Africa, Scotland, Ireland, Serbia and Croatia. He has written extensively on Danish, Scandinavian and international cinema and film culture. Jesper Andersen is the director of the festival East by Southeast, which focuses on Central and Eastern European cinema (including Armenia). He has served on juries at a number of international film festivals, the latest being Mumbai IFF, 2016.

Born in 1973 in Hamedan Iran, Majid Barzegar holds a BA in Film Direction and an MA in Dramatic Literature. He has directed several shorts and documentary films. Since 1990, Barzegar has also been involved in the production of numerous shorts and features in both fiction and documentary categories, most of which have had international as well as national success. His first feature, Rainy Seasons (2010), has been in official selection at festivals such as Rotterdam and Montreal. His second, Parviz, has had even greater success and critical acclaim. Barzegar also works as a writer, photographer and painter and has had several exhibitions at some of the most prestigious galleries and cultural centers in Tehran.

Natalia Ivanova is a member of the European Film Academy and of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia. She graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys. She is working in the film industry since 1986. She is the head of production center Khorosho Production since 2002. Natalia produced 7 feature films and 20 documentaries, among which was Two Women by Vera Glagoleva with the participation of cinema star Ralph Fiennes.

Born in Salamanca in 1989 and currently living in Barcelona. He graduated in Art History in Salamanca and finished a Master in Cinema Studies at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona). He is a freelance film critic, cultural manager and a collaborator scholar at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona). As a film critic, he has written in the Swiss magazine Mundo Hispánico and is currently collaborating in the Spanish magazine Transit: cine y otros desvíos.

Graduate in Film Studies from the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. As film critic he contributes to various film magazines, review outlets and newspapers. Lecturer of Film Distribution at the National Academy for Teatre and Film, Sofia, Film History at the SouthWest University in Blagoevgrad. Autor of many books, ralated to history of film, uncluding The Cinema in Bulgaria in 3 volumes. Founder and artistic director of the Love Is Folly IFF in Varna (1993). Executive Director of the Bulgarian National Film Centre (2004-2009). Member of the Union of the Bulgarian Filmmakers and the Bulgarian section of FIPRESCI. Jury member at numerous national and international film festivals.

David Muradyan was born in Yerevan in 1951. In 1973, հe graduated the Department of Philological Studies of Yerevan State University. He teaches Film History and Script Mastership courses in Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinema. He is the author of a number of articles, as well as the scriptwriter of several short feature and documentary films. In 1971-73, he worked at the National Radio, in 1976-91 and 1997-2001 - in Hayfilm Studio as a member of script and editorial council, then as general editor, and deputy director of artistic programs. In 2003, his play, Our Old Piano, was awarded Levon Shant Prize as Best Play of the Year. He is published in the media since 1969. Muradyan’s first book was published in 1976; afterwards, he published another 8 books. His works were translated in Russian, Ukrainian, Tajik, Georgian, Romanian, French, German, Hungarian and English. In 1994-1996 and 2001-2008, he was the Deputy President of Armenia’s Union of Writers, in 2008-2010 - Deputy Minister of Culture of Armenia. From 1993 he is the director of Cineology and Scriptwriting Courses of Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinema, from 2014 - the Rector of the same Institute.

Ákos Lázár Kovács (born 1963), an aesthete and media-researcher, has been the head of the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) – Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences as an Associate Professor since 2006. His doctoral (Ph.D. and DLA) studies were completed in the field of sociology of religion in Vienna and film theory in Budapest. Media- and film theory, film aesthetics and visual communications belong to his specialities. He has been the head of the film section at the Hungarian Catholic Association of the Press (MAKÚSZ) and the director of the Faludi International Youth FF and Photo Competition in Budapest.

Fr. Garegin was born in Armenia in 1986. He was admitted to Gevorkian Theological Seminary (Holy Etchmiadzin) in 2002 and graduated in 2008 with distinction, obtaining BA and MA degrees in Theology. In 2006, he was ordained to the diaconate. Three years later Fr. Garegin was ordained a priest and became a member of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin. From 2009-10, Fr. Garegin was the head of the Department of Church and State Relations of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. In 2010, he travelled to the UK to pursue further academic studies at the University of Sheffield and for two years resided at the College of the Resurrection (Mirfield). In 2011, Fr. Garegin was offered a PhD program at Sheffield, which he did in combination with Hebrew studies at Oxford University. While working on his research at Oxford, Fr. Garegin gave lectures and tutored in various colleges of the University as well as at the Oriental Institute. In 2010, Fr. Garegin was appointed as a visiting pastor of Birmingham and Oxford mission parishes as well as Holy Trinity Armenian Church parish in Manchester. For one year (2013-14) Fr. Garegin was the visiting pastor St. Yeghiche Church in London. Upon completion of his PhD program Fr. Garegin returned to Armenia assuming the position of Deputy-Head of the Department of Christian Education of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. In 2015, Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan was appointed Principal (Dean) of Gevorkian Theological Seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Anita Uzulniece was born in 1947. She studied German philology at State University of Latvia and film sciences at the Film Institute in Moscow (VGIK). Additional studies and dissertation about the documentary film 1960-80 in Latvia. Co-authoring of the Film History in Latvia. Lecturer on film history at RISEBA. As film critic, she is writing on films and publishing reviews, festival reports. Organizing in Riga since 1999 also the film forum And the Word Became Film, including debates on “film and theology”. Member of FIPRESCI and INTERFILM. Member of several FIPRESCI and INTERFILM juries as well as Ecumenical Juries in Berlin, Cottbus, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Cannes and Montreal.